A Glimpse of The Future
by Wamakai
Summary: "Zuko... Where am I?" she asked managing to open her eyes slowly. "You're home Katara," he said and she felt a gentle hand caress her cheek, "welcome back sweetheart." ...had he just called her 'sweetheart'  Zutara Oneshot


**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN AVATAR: THE LAST AIR BENDER AND NEVER HAVE, NOR DO I CLAIM ANY RIGHTS TO IT.**

"Katara? Can you hear me?" came a familiar voice through the haze.

"Zuko... Where am I?" she asked managing to open her eyes slowly. The bright light around her made her squint.

"You're home Katara," he said and she felt a gentle hand caress her cheek, "welcome back sweetheart."

The haze slowly began to clear and she sat up despite a throb in her head. She looked around her curiously. She definitely wasn't in a Southern Water Tribe Igloo, or even _in_ an igloo for that matter. She was in a grand canopy bed decorated in deep red, burgundy and gold hues. The fine work on the mahogany bed posts was clearly not from the water tribe either. She was in the fire nation, and, from what she could tell, in a very well- furnished room. Was that Zuko's room? She blushed to think she might be in his bed... and had he just called her 'sweetheart?'

She looked down at her clothes. She was wearing a deep red gown with loose sleeves and gold embroidery on the hemming. Fire Nation clothes, very fine ones at that. What in the name of the four elements was she doing in the Fire Nation? She looked back at Zuko who had a relieved look on his face. He kissed her hand and rose from his seat to sit next to her on the bed. He gently lay her head on his chest kissing her hair and holding her. Okay, so it could have been weirder, she thought to herself.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"A little over a week," he said stroking her hair, "we missed you so much. I was so worried when I saw you go down like that. Even the doctor wasn't sure what was wrong..."

He tilted up her face and looked deep into her blue eyes. Katara met his gaze and before she knew it, he was kissing her. Not passionately, but gently, as if to say how relieved he was that she was alive. She didn't understand anything yet, not where she was or how she came to be there, but she knew one thing for sure; she liked how Zuko kissed her. As quickly as the kiss had started, it ended, leaving her wanting more. Her eyes flew open (she couldn't remember having closed them to begin with) and she met his again. She could practically feel his gaze boring into her.

"I'm so happy you're alright. I don't know what I'd do without you Katara."

She smiled but before she could reply, a little girl came bursting into the room. She had amber eyes and her long brown hair flowed behind her. Something about her was very familiar. Katara didn't have to wait very long to figure out what it was.

"Mama! You're awake!" she said and clambered onto the bed to envelope poor Katara in a hug. She put her arms around the little girl and patted her back, not quite sure what was going on.

"I told Uncle Sokka you were fine. He'll be so happy to see you!" She was pretty animated and her amber eyes glowed brightly as she spoke. Katara stared at the little girl. She looked a lot like her mother, Kya. Was she really Katara's daughter? She stroked her hair and smiled. That was definitely her own hair. She had a daughter! A beautiful, lively, healthy little girl. She was so proud of her. But who was her father? She had amber eyes, just like...

"Papa, do you think mama will be well enough to take me to the garden tomorrow?" she asked turning to Zuko who took her in his arms and lifted her off the bed. Zuko! Zuko was her daughter's father! It was all a little too much to take in. As it was, she wasn't sure how long she could deceive everyone for.

"I don't know Yumi, we'll have to ask her. What do you think mama?" he said turning to her. Katara baulked for a moment then managed to smile and nod.

"Of course. If I feel well enough, I'll take you to the garden."

Yumi cheered and laughed as Zuko took her in his arms and nuzzled her nose then hugged her.

"I told you she would be alright princess," he said and kissed her forehead, "Now go tell your aunts and uncles that mama is alright."

Yumi ran out of the room immediately Zuko put her down. He turned to Katara and pushed a stray strand of hair from her face. She smiled up at him.

"You should rest. I'll take care of the others," he said and kissed her forehead then left.

Katara lay back on the soft pillows and smiled. A family! And Zuko was the fire lord so that made her the fire lord's wife! It was hard to believe. Well, the prophecy had been that she would marry a powerful bender...

Katara shut her eyes laying back down on the soft pillows of the bed. Zuko's bed, she could tell from the smell of him. She smiled and sighed. She couldn't have imagined it better.

A memory was niggling at the back of her mind; something at the edge of her consciousness...

A storm...

A cave...

A fire...

An old woman...

A strange chant...

Then she remembered it all. She had gone to an old woman she'd heard was in one of the nearby caves and who was able to communicate with the Spirits. Her and the rest of the group had been travelling to their homes from the Fire Nation after Zuko's coronation. She had thought that Aang would have been the powerful bender she married but wasn't so sure since she and the fire prince had been having a little bit of an emotional tension since he'd helped her hunt down her mother's killer. She had gone to find out what her future was and who she was meant to have chosen.

When she opened her eyes again, she wasn't looking up at the intricate patterns of a fire nation bed, but at the roof of a cave.

"You liked what you saw?" asked the old woman from before. Katara rose slowly, her head feeling slightly heavy.

"What happened?" she asked looking out into the dark night.

"You went into the life of your future self," she said and stirred the embers of the fire.

"But how... why am I back so soon?"

"It wasn't real. It was what could be. One does not interfere with the delicate balance of things without some consequences. I could not let you see more than a few minutes of that life without permanently damaging the workings of the world as it is now."

"Consequences?" asked Katara sitting up, "but what I saw... it was..."

"That is not always what is, child. Your actions now may alter the events you have just witnessed. Your destiny shall run its course, should you choose to take this path. No man's destiny is set in stone. He must choose for himself and come to the end of that destiny on his own."

Katara got up and thanked the old woman then left. The old woman smiled to herself and wished the young bender all the blessings in the world. She would need them for the journey ahead.


End file.
